Investors in Toronto are hoping for a repeat of the last two days, when the market finished in positive territory, on the eve of a G20 summit and amid suspense over a possible strike against Syria.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended Wednesday ahead 17.31 points to 12,757.81.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.13 cents to 95.40 cents U.S. early Thursday
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.60 points to close Wednesday at 947.18
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks looked set for a lackluster start Thursday after a two-day rally inspired by a number of strong economic reports and corporate news.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials demurred 10 points, or 0.1%, to 14,914. Futures for the S&P 500 were unchanged at 1,653.40, and futures for the NASDAQ pointed upward 3.25 points, or 0.1%, at 3,131.50
Shares in LinkedIn continued were lower in pre-market trading Thursday, though they had recovered somewhat from earlier losses.
Shares fell more than 2% after the professional networking website announced plans Wednesday to sell $1 billion U.S. worth of stock in a secondary offering.
LinkedIn shares are still up more than 100% this year.
Meantime, the continuing threat of a U.S.-led military strike against Syria has kept stocks from going too far too fast.
Syria is sure to dominate discussions at the G-20 conference in Russia, which kicks off Thursday. Investors will be listening closely to assess if and when a military strike may occur. The G-20 summit was meant to focus on the global economy, but the debate over Syria is expected to overshadow the event.
Economically speaking, payroll processor ADP will release its monthly report on private-sector jobs, and the U.S. Labor Department will release its weekly data on initial jobless claims this morning.
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank and the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England decided to keep their key interest rates unchanged.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of Japan struck a more upbeat note on prospects for the world's third-largest economy, saying that the country is on track to beat deflation.
European markets were all moving higher in morning trading, with London's FTSE 100 index leading the way with a nearly 0.4% gain.
In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index notched a 1.2% gain. Japan's Nikkei and the Shanghai Composite index closed relatively unchanged
Oil prices advanced 66 cents to $107.89 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices hiked $6.60 to $1,396.60 U.S. an ounce.
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